NaNoWriMo Day 12 and an interlude

NaNoWriMo Day 12–14,275 words. Guess I passed that 10,000 I was worried about. Next milestone, 15,000. Should hit that tomorrow. For those who are not slaving away at NaNoWriMo, I present one of the Little Movies I Love: Elizabethtown.

I watched this little movie because I like Orlando Bloom. Loved him as Legolas, loved him as Will Turner. This is a completely different turn for him, and he got rather abused for it. I disagree. I love Elizabethtown. Let me tell you why.

First, the story line. Orlando Bloom is an American hot shot young shoe designer who designs a pair of shoes that looses his company 1 billion dollars. He gets fired and then dumped by his girlfriend. He’s all ready to commit suicide when the call comes: his father has died while visiting family in Elizabethtown, Kentucky. He has to go over there from Oregon, as a representative for his mother and sister, and take care of his father’s remains and funeral arrangements. On the flight east, he meets an earnestly cheerful flight attendant played by Kirsten Dunst who latches on to him, refusing to be turned away. Now what I love about it:

1) His family in Elizabethtown is so stereotypically southern. Some may say their depictions are over the top, but they remind me of my family in Tennessee.

2) The hotel in which he is staying is also playing host to a loud, rambunctious wedding party for Chuck and Cindy. While Orlando is on the phone with Kirsten he goes wandering the hall looking for a beer and encounters Chuck, who is drunk as a skunk. He has beer bottles in the pockets of his robe that klink whenever he moves. I think that’s hilarious.

3) His phone call from Kirsten begins as one lonely man and one stalkerish stranger. They are on the phone all night, and by morning know each other better than many people who have lived together for years. They decide to drive to meet, her from Nashville (my hometown) and him from Elizabethtown. They talk on the phone the whole way until they are standing in the road talking on their phones, looking at each other. What a wonderful image it is.

4) Orlando’s cousin, Jesse, has an out of control son who terrorizes the entire houseful of relatives. Orlando solves the problem by bringing in a video cassette of a man blowing up a house. The children are mesmerized. And I laugh out loud.

5) Kirsten designs a travel kit for him for his road trip from Kentucky to Oregon. Along the way she has highlighted places he needs to stop and written descriptions for each. She also recorded a soundtrack for the trip which is truly wonderful. Love the scenery, love the music, and love Orlando’s journey to redemption.

People may say what they will, and get no argument from me. But for my time–which is far more precious to me than money–this is a well spent two hours. I have done it many times, and I will certainly do it again.